News

Dunford Mulls F-35B IOC Decision; 4 Bs Take Out 9 Attackers

Breaking Defense // July 28, 2015

During the
Marine’s recent operational readiness test of the F-35B, four of the Marine
aircraft went up against nine enemy aircraft.

“It went very poorly for the bad guys,” Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant
for aviation, told me this afternoon. Davis provided few details, saying they
were classified, He did say that the F-35s faced a threat that “we have never put an F-16 or a Harrier
against.” The F-35Bs, he said, did a “great job.”

I asked Davis
about the recent news that the F-35A did not fare that well in dogfight conditions
against an F-16. “I love
the F-16. It was a great airplane. Still is pretty good, but I would not want
to be in a fight against an F-35.”

In a clear
message to A-10 advocates, Davis
said the F-35B performed extremely well at Close Air Support missions
using Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and laser-guided GBU-12s. The
aircraft does need a cannon, he conceded, for some missions. The gun is
currently undergoing its first tests mounted on an aircraft but it won’t be
deployed on the plane until 2017 when the Block 3F software is installed. But
Davis was unequivocal in his enthusiasm for the aircraft. “No airplane in the world will
be able to touch this jet at Close Air Support,” he told reporters.